First Look: Café Coeur in Creve Coeur

Café Coeur, the St. Louis area’s first Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant, will open Sunday, April 7, at 10477 Old Olive Street Road in Creve Coeur.

“The original concept was a simple pizza shop with sushi,” said co-owner Moshe Plotnik. “When [executive] chef Matt [Dawson] joined us, his expertise and knowledge in Japanese cuisine inspired him to create this eclectic fusion. He does an amazing job combining some of the best aspects of both cuisines.”

As Sauce reported in May 2018, Plotnik owns Café Coeur with Yaniv Sides, who also owns restaurants in New York. The eatery is also certified kosher.

“We’re building ourselves as a Japanese-Italian restaurant that happens to be kosher right in the middle of where a lot of kosher people eat,” Moshe said. “We’re in a very central location to most of St. Louis County. A lot of commerce goes on here; there’s lots of lunch business.”

The pescatarian eatery offers fusion options like spaghetti ramen, matcha linguine, arancini onigiri and bruschetta with Japanese mayo, as well as cuisine-specific items like sushi and gyoza, along with eggplant lasagna and Impossible Burger meatballs. There are many vegan options, and the eatery can accommodate other dietary restrictions, too. There’s also a full bar with a wide selection of cocktails, wine and beer.

The 2,300-square-foot space has around 50 seats between a bar and mostly four-top tables amid a modern, industrial space full of natural light. The restaurant will offer carryout, as well as delivery via apps like GrubHub and UberEats. It will also offer catering and will rent out the space for events.

Café Coeur will be open 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, and closed Saturday.

Lauren Healey is associate editor at Sauce Magazine.

Editor's Note: After publication, Café Coeur changed its opening date to April 7. The article was updated to reflect the new date.